President Barack Obama speaks to the assembled crowd at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Serivce on Sunday in Emmitsburg, Md. This marked the president's first year speaking at the service.(Photo: Clare Becker &#8212; The Evening Sun)Buy Photo

Though President Barack Obama believed the debt owed to a firefighter's family can never fully be repaid, he took pause Sunday to thank the families of 87 individuals killed in the line of duty.

View more photos.

President Barack Obama spoke of the "sacrifice" made by the families of the 87 men and women being honored at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service in Emmitsburg, Maryland on Sunday. This was the first time the president has attended the memorial.

"It's hard to think of a more selfless profession than firefighting," Obama said. "It's why little boys and increasingly little girls want to say 'I want to be a firefighter.' They understand instinctually that there's something special about it."

Scores of fire personnel from all over the country attended the service, which took place at Mount St. Mary's University, to give one last salute to their friends and colleagues who had died.

An honor guard processional with more than 100 bagpipers opened and closed the service along with a ceremonial tolling of a bell to signify one final farewell to the fallen firefighters.

"Every single day across our country, men and women leave their homes and their families and they might save the lives of people they have never met," Obama said. "They are good stewards, serving their neighborhoods, their communities and the nation with their courage and fortitude and strength."

After his remarks, Obama walked down from the stage and offered a personal condolences to every single family member present of the 87 firefighters. Some accepted a firm handshake and others fully embraced the president, welcoming his gesture with enthusiasm.

Four fallen firefighters that were honored hailed from Pennsylvania in Lehigh, Philadelphia, Lancaster and Westmoreland counties.

Each family was escorted by a firefighter and presented with a flag of the United States and a single red rose.

Penn Township firefighter Jeff Parks escorted the family of Samir P. Ashmar, of the Upper Macungie Township Bureau of Fire in Pennsylvania.

Parks, who has volunteered for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation for eight years, believed the service is an important gesture to show the families that their sacrifice does not go unrecognized.

"It's all part of the healing process for them," he said.

This year, escorting Ashmar's family really hit home for Parks because the two men were the same age.

"When you lose a person that has that spirit of a first responder, it really matters," Parks said. "Some of those folks can't be replaced and there's less and less people wanting to volunteer each year."

Related: Read through live coverage of the event .

Video: President Obama speaks at National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service

Fallen firefighters from Pennsylvania

Here are the four fallen firefighters from Pennsylvania who were remembered Sunday:

Samir P. Ashmar

Upper Macungie Township Bureau of Fire, Station 56

Died Nov. 20, 2014

Joyce M. Craig

Philadephia Fire Department

Died Dec. 9, 2014

Christi M. Rodgers

Robert Fulton Fire Company

Died Oct. 24, 2014

E. Jeffrey Wentzel

Youngwood Volunteer Fire Department

Died March 22, 2014

About the Lancaster County firefighter remembered

One of the firefighters honored Sunday was Christi M. Rodgers, who was an active firefighter and EMT with the Robert Fulton Fire Company in Peach Bottom, Lancaster County.

The 26-year-old died when she went into cardiac arrest while responding to a fire in Lancaster County, according to LNP. She was the mother of a 1-month-old baby at the time of her death.

She had been named 2013 Firefighter of the Year, according to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

Rodgers had joined the Rawlinsville Fire Company in Holtwood, Pa. at the age of 14. She also had worked with other departments, including the Providence Township Ambulance Association and the Pequea Fire Company, according to the foundation.

Fallen firefighters and emergency personnel from York County

Here is a list firefighters and emergency personnel from York County who died in the line of duty. They were honored during a ceremony last fall at Prospect Hill Cemetery: